Chapter 104: Carrot

Zheng Fa felt he had been tricked.

He looked at Zhang Shijie and couldn’t shake the feeling that her smile was malicious.

Zhang Shijie seemed like she was waving a carrot in front of a donkey—she looked downright deserving of a punch.

“This technique… does Sister Zhang also have it?”

“I won it from you in a bet,” Zhang Shijie said without hesitation. “Only after reading it did I understand why Master Pang says he never loses a bet.”

“Why?”

“Practicing this technique requires a spiritual material called Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo Tear,” Zhang Shijie tossed the jade cylinder at Zheng Fa. “Of the entire Jiushan Sect, only Master Pang owns a single Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo. As for buying it at the marketplace—it’s not just expensive, it’s nearly impossible to find. I couldn’t get one either.”

“…“

Zheng Fa caught the jade cylinder and fell silent.

The Jiushan Sect’s elite are all full of tricks!

If I’d truly agreed to Master Pang and gotten the “Void-Sight Technique” without the material, wouldn’t it all be for nothing?

“I’ve studied this technique for some time,” Zhang Shijie shook her head. “Even by my standards, this Spirit-Eye art is incredibly profound and perfectly suited for Talisman Masters. It should be immensely useful to you. But to master it, you absolutely cannot bypass the Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo Tear.”

Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, but he wasn’t disappointed.

“No wonder Master Pang chose this technique as the bet,” Zhang Shijie shook her head. “He wanted me to trade him my ‘Talisman Foundation Establishment Method’ for his Hundred-Year Purple Bamboo Tear. He really cares for that younger brother, Zhou Gan.”

Zheng Fa was baffled.

“I was originally hesitant,” Zhang Shijie glanced at him. “But if we could get enough for two people, I might consider it—as long as you diligently cultivate the ‘Talisman Foundation Establishment Method.’”

“Huh?”

“Master Pang needs to verify the results.”

“…“

“Otherwise, I can’t ask for a high price.”

“The ‘Talisman Foundation Establishment Method’ doubles cultivation speed,” Zheng Fa asked, puzzled. “How could Master Pang not be tempted by such a powerful technique?”

“Doubles?” Zhang Shijie frowned, looking at Zheng Fa. “Who said the ‘Talisman Foundation Establishment Method’ doubles cultivation speed?”

“After I formed the Upright Invisible Talisman, my cultivation speed increased by ten percent. Ten talismans would double it!” Zheng Fa exclaimed.

Had he been too optimistic?

“…“ Zhang Shijie stared at Zheng Fa for a long time, then sighed softly: “When I formed my first Yuan Fu, my cultivation speed only increased slightly—less than half of ten percent. Even after forging the Yuan Fu Dao Base, it only improved by thirty percent.”

Her expression was complex. If Zheng Fa had to translate it, it would be:

Is there someone even better at cheating than me?

“…“ Zheng Fa thought for a moment and suddenly understood—it was his own overwhelming spiritual core. The stronger his spiritual core, the more talisman diagrams he attracted—even geniuses like Zhang Shijie couldn’t match him here.

“Keep cultivating!” Zhang Shijie clapped her hands. “I’ll go ask Master Pang for more Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo Tear.”

“What if Brother Zhou can’t improve as much as I did?”

“Did you lie? Doesn’t the ‘Talisman Foundation Establishment Method’ double your cultivation speed?”

“No, but Brother Zhou probably won’t get this effect,” Zheng Fa worried about Master Pang’s reaction if he discovered their false claims.

“Then he’s stupid.”

“…“

“Remember: geniuses don’t explain. If they can’t do it, they’re just not talented enough.”

Zhang Shijie spoke with experience, patting Zheng Fa’s shoulder. “Keep cultivating—we’ll make a fortune off Master Pang’s spiritual materials!”

Zheng Fa felt something was off—why am I cultivating so you can profit?

Isn’t this carrot supposed to be grown by the donkey itself?

“Then Sister Zhang, you…”

“Dare you haggle with Master Pang?” Zhang Shijie asked.

“No.”

…

Modern era, Old White’s house.

Zheng Fa and the two others sat around the desk.

On the desk lay Zheng Fa’s copied version of the “Talisman Foundation Establishment Method.”

The first group study session of the Immortal Learning Group began!

Under Old White’s eyes were dark circles, yet his face glowed with anticipation.

Tang Lingwumin’s beautiful eyes sparkled with a hint of excitement.

Zheng Fa understood their emotions—after all, this was immortality!

But after they finished reading the “Talisman Foundation Establishment Method,” Old White’s face fell.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Zheng Fa nodded lightly.

“Too little. Can’t see anything.”

Old White placed the “Talisman Foundation Establishment Method” on the table, as if he’d wasted his hopes.

Zheng Fa agreed with him—this technique was a half-baked idea from Jiushan’s founder, later slightly refined by Zhang Shijie.

Unlike other Jiushan Sect techniques, like the “Red Sky Scripture,” which had been passed down through generations with countless annotations and analyses.

The “Talisman Foundation Establishment Method” was barely over a thousand characters total.

“It’s too little,” Zheng Fa slowly nodded. “Many questions aren’t explained at all.”

“Why do talismans exhibit yin-yang and five-element traits?”

“More importantly—why does using yin-yang and five-element theory to forge the Yuan Fu Dao Base even work?”

This was his most immediate confusion after reading the “Talisman Foundation Establishment Method.”

Zhang Shijie, being from the Xuanwei Realm, found the yin-yang and five-element explanation for talismans perfectly natural—no need to question it.

But Zheng Fa wasn’t like that—modern education forced him to ask why.

“…We can’t tell yet,” Old White thought for a moment, frowning. “This sample size is too small. We need to examine more talisman diagrams.”

Zhang Shijie only needed to test with her own Yuan Ling Dao Body.

But these three had far more to consider.

First, is the yin-yang and five-element classification even valid? Can all talisman diagrams be categorized this way? Only then could they probe their essence.

“A computer would be best,” Old White glanced at Zheng Fa, then fell silent.

Zheng Fa understood—he meant computers were ideal for processing such massive data, but that meant exposing the secret of immortality to another person.

“But the person who wrote this ‘Talisman Foundation Establishment Method’ did confirm one of my earlier doubts,” Old White suddenly said. “The Yuan Fu you showed me—there were too many.”

“?”

“If they can be classified by yin-yang and five elements, then Yuan Fu are probably not the most fundamental aspect of talismans.”

“Can Yuan Fu be subdivided?”

“Yes, that’s the most direct explanation,” Old White nodded.

This was one of Zheng Fa’s own theories—but now the question was how to verify it.

After discussion, the three agreed: to solve this, they needed topology.

On the other hand, handling such massive data still required someone who understood computers.

As they talked, Zheng Fa noticed Old White’s head nodding slowly.

“What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you sleep last night?” he asked curiously.

“…I stayed up late studying,” Old White wiped his face with both hands.

Embarrassed by dozing off while studying, he blamed it: “Also, this stuff—it’s boring! Just looking at it makes you sleepy!”

He pointed at the “Talisman Foundation Establishment Method” on the table.

“Boring?”

“Your human electricity thing was way more exciting,” Old White sneered. “Bioelectricity, magnetic fields, one punch to explode a star!”

“Wait—what did you study last night?”

Zheng Fa eyed the old man suspiciously.

“Ahem—comics!”

“…“

“I saw you were charged with electricity and thought you were showing us those things, so I Googled it,” Old White said sheepishly. “To be honest, those comics were pretty good!”

“You’re surprisingly trendy!”

“Of course I am!” Old White tilted his head proudly, then added discontentedly: “But look at this book—all it shows are talisman diagrams, no flashy art at all!”

“…“

Zheng Fa glanced at Tang Lingwumin—she wasn’t dozing, but her expression wasn’t as excited as before.

After reading the “Talisman Foundation Establishment Method,” it was clear they’d both been let down.

“How about you shock me again?” Old White suddenly said hopefully. “Let me feel the wonder of immortality again?”

…I suspect you’re using immortality as an excuse to satisfy some embarrassing kinks.

But Zheng Fa understood Old White’s meaning—they imagined something grander, more wondrous about immortality, not just a plain book.

In short: the carrot wasn’t fragrant enough, and the donkey was thinking of quitting.

Zheng Fa’s mind stirred, and the Upright Invisible Talisman in his dantian trembled slightly.

“Hmm?”

Bai Lao Tou and Tang Lingwumin watched in stunned silence as Zheng Fa, who had just been sitting beside them, suddenly vanished, leaving only an empty chair.

“Zheng Fa?”

Bai Lao Tou shuddered all over, jolted fully awake by fear.

Tang Lingwumin’s eyes sparkled with curiosity; her fingers reached out toward Zheng Fa’s former seat, tapping the air repeatedly.

“Don’t touch that!”

Zheng Fa materialized, grabbing her fingers in alarm, helplessly staring at her flushed face.

This girl’s curiosity feels a bit too intense.

“Zheng Fa! This is…”

“The boring thing you mentioned.”

“Where’s the boredom?”

“It’s not as flashy as in the comics.”

“It’s not flashy, but it’s useful!” Bai Lao Tou exclaimed excitedly: “When I was young, I dreamed of being invisible!”

“How would that help?” Zheng Fa looked at Bai Lao Tou; the man seemed overly excited.

“I was poor back then! I thought, if I could vanish, I’d go overseas and become a grand thief!” Bai Lao Tou drifted into fantasy: “Bank vaults? I could come and go as I pleased!”

“Overseas?”

“Of course! I’d never steal in my own country!”

Zheng Fa’s tone was complicated: “You may want to be a lawless rogue, but you’re still patriotic.”

“Actually…” Bai Lao Tou blushed, suddenly sounding embarrassed: “I was young then, unmarried… you know how young men are—full of fire. I thought, if I could vanish, I’d sneak into women’s bathhouses…”

Tang Lingwumin widened her eyes and instinctively shifted her chair farther away from Bai Lao Tou.

“I was just imagining it!”

“Women’s bathhouses overseas?” Zheng Fa asked.

“In my own country! What’s there to see overseas?”

Zheng Fa nodded, sincerely praising: “You truly are patriotic.”

…

Snap!

Tang Lingwumin slapped her bank card down on the table again.

“I want to learn this!” Her eyes gleamed.

“You want to sneak into bathhouses too?”

Zheng Fa froze—didn’t she have plenty of money?

“Sometimes… I just wish my mother couldn’t see me…”